Finding a means to cope with prison violence was an unfortunate reality for many of our participants. More adaptive means of coping were also evident, including cooperation and belonging.
Cooperation is a strategy used to avoid problems, conflict, and stress in the prison environment Matthew Sean describes his involvement in a life-sentence inmate group where he provided support to and advocated on behalf of other long-term prisoners:. The lifer's group and helping out the guys was an escape.
Was an escape completely! Because I'd worked on that, I give 'em community visits…there's a lot of people in there that were either drunk, or they were stoned…hearing their stories…I mean if they want to commit suicide and you're trying to help.
I've always had a big heart, you know what I mean? I wanted to help these people. And also hearing their stories took me away from my… my situation I was in. You know what I mean? This strategy of cooperation enabled Sean to escape his own untenable reality by helping others cope with the prison experience. Similarly, Max, who had little formal education prior to his incarceration, coped with his wrongful imprisonment in large part through reading and learning.
By taking advantage of his job in the prison library, Max taught himself a second language, as well as studying philosophy and semantics. Through this strategy of cooperation, Max was able to survive, and to some degree, escape from the harsh reality of prison:. Fate is always operating out there somehow, for example sending me to work in the library, instead of the workshop where the majority of inmates were. So, I familiarized myself with the world of books and that is how I came to read a lot.
All kinds of books, because I didn't have any knowledge at first…and I had tremendous difficulty, I have to say, even to read…A book could take me a week to read, and needless to say, I had enough time for that…sixteen hours and a half, seventeen in a cell…I discovered Sartre…Camus, authors that really bring you to understand… you know, we exist and that we are products of society…I learned [a second language].
I learned many different kinds of things. This was an excellent way for me to escape from prison. Matthew suggests that withdrawal, which can take a number of forms, is also an important prison coping strategy. Withdrawal may be manifest as physical separation from other prisoners through segregation, isolation, and minimal communication with other inmates.
Both Jason and Max describe their conscious withdrawal from the prison population. For Jason, this isolation was to maintain his sense of sanity. For Max, it was simply because he felt that he was inherently different from the other inmates:. As my time progressed, I did two 8-months sentences, almost back to back, in segregation… I consciously, purposely, removed myself from that population…But, I purposely removed myself from everything.
Not just the institution, but everything. And I put myself into a size of a normal house bathroom: vanity, toilet, mirror, tub. Turn the tub, and that's a cell. And I just lived there. Within me. I had to. I couldn't afford to lose my mind. I was always apart from the other inmates…criminals had nothing to offer me. Matthew argues that withdrawal may also reveal itself through forms of depression, self-mutilation, and suicide.
Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts were a reality for many of the respondents. The prison literature indicates that those most likely to attempt suicide are those who are physically and socially isolated in prisons with few activities and with little contact with home and family Liebling For the wrongly convicted, the effects of such isolation are likely exacerbated, given that their imprisonment resulted from miscarriage of justices.
The following excerpt describes Jason's suicide attempt subsequent to his bail hearing:. I had been denied bail…Denied. Didn't take too long to decide that I wasn't going to go through that again. So, I waited for my cellmate to pass out, for the nurse to come, for him to get his medication, that shift's guard to do his walk. I had already made the rope, earlier that day. Took the bed sheet, braided it. Tested the metal box that protected the smoke detector.
Decided it would hold my weight. Made the knot. Waited for everything, lights went out. Put it up, went and stood on the stainless steel sink in the corner. Put the rope around my neck and stepped off the sink…In about the instant that I was hanging there, I decided that I didn't want to be there. But I didn't have enough strength to pull myself up. I just, I was spinning. If I wasn't spinning, I probably could, but… The jolt of making the rope tense made me spin, which was a good thing, I guess, because my feet started to kick the sink and it woke my cell-mate.
A further coping strategy that appears particular to the experience of the wrongly convicted is a preoccupation with the facts of their case. All of the interviewees described how they became completely absorbed with the details of their cases, pouring over court transcripts and legal files, writing letters, hounding legal officials and prison administrators for information, all in pursuit of exoneration.
I just poured over my transcripts… I was obsessed about the case. Kind of normal. I was wrongly convicted… I would always just get up in the middle of the night and start writing things down…I'd write everything down. That was my baby to save.
And that's exactly what I did. All this time, I protested my innocence, I submitted an enormous amount of paperwork to the penitentiary authorities, first, and then to the Department of Justice…and also to Ottawa, and they would pass the buck to each other continually.
Finally, I wrote to the Queen directly, that…obviously, didn't do anything. However, this preoccupation with their case often worked to their detriment inside the prison as the prison administration tended to view these actions as evidence of their lack of remorse and inability to adapt to the prison environment:. I was obsessed about my case… I was wrongly convicted. I'm not guilty!
I'm not denying. I'm just telling you the truth. The difficulties encountered by the wrongly convicted did not end once they were released from prison. The following section explores the long-term effects of a wrongful imprisonment as identified by the respondents since their release from prison. These effects include issues of loss and effects on family, intense anger and aggression, an intolerance of injustices, and a continued sense of imprisonment despite their release.
The losses experienced by those wrongly convicted were profound. These included loss of freedom and the loss of their former identity and sense of self:. I lost me, is what I lost…my identity, who I am…The way I viewed life. However, the most significant loss appeared to be the loss of family. Mark, whose two children were apprehended by child protection authorities when his wife suffered a breakdown during his incarceration, explains the devastation of losing his family:.
What it affected was my nuclear family—wife and my children, my family. It completely devastated that. We lost our home…I lost my kids… I lost the care and guidance and companionship of my dad. We were extremely close. I lost that… the hardest part about being an inmate was the loss of the family. Furthermore, the hardships that accompany losing one's family through incarceration also affect the families themselves.
Not only are they deprived of the emotional support of their loved one, and forced to deal with the reality of having a family member in prison, but they also may be deprived of an essential source of income Ferraro et al. As Jason explains:. All of the respondents noted that their experiences have fuelled a generalized anger and feelings of aggression towards society, as well as a more specific hatred of the justice system. Max, who was wrongly convicted of robbery notes:.
I am full of HATE [shouting]. Full of hate and this has lasted for years. I am full of hate against the administration of justice in this province. I also hate a society that accepts injustices as normal. All of the respondents reported that their wrongful incarcerations have had an important impact on their level of aggression and overall temperament.
In all cases, participants reported being more angry, aggressive, and impulsive than prior to their imprisonment:. There's no question that I had to learn to be tougher, harder.
Without a doubt, I became more aggressive, more angry. It doesn't take much for me to blow up… [Before my incarceration] I was more patient, and it would take me a lot more to get angry.
But now, it doesn't take anything. Upon release from imprisonment, most prisoners experience a period of readjustment, in which they find new means to cope in society and adapt to increasing social and familial demands. Consistently found among the interviewees was an increasing intolerance for injustice. Specific incidents where an individual's rights were not respected or where the outcome of a situation was considered unfair had a profound effect on several of these men.
The experience of wrongful conviction and imprisonment seems to have instilled in them a profound cynicism and mistrust regarding the fairness and legitimacy of authority figures. This appeared to affect various aspects of their lives, whether it was an injustice perpetrated against themselves or against others. Sam describes this heightened sensitivity:. Well it's made me less tolerant of a number of things, including injustices and bureaucracies…so… I still, you know, its pretty emotional issue for me, I still react when I read about injustice.
I have a heightened sense of awareness, I'm a little hypersensitive to somebody getting screwed around by the justice system. Being wrongfully incarcerated has had a considerable effect on the respondent's behaviour, perspectives, and circumstances. However, in spite of being released from prison, many respondents do not feel that they are truly 'free,' and continue to feel constrained by a sense of imprisonment that prevents them from leading a normal or productive life:.
When I'm asked how much time I did… I believe that I've been in prison for decades psychologically. For Mark, seemingly simple daily tasks appear to take on enormous significance, often inciting panic and a self-consciousness concerning his former status as a prisoner.
He describes an incident buying groceries:. My wife wasn't feeling well that day, and she asked me to go run an errand. I took the car and I went to [city], to run an errand.
I was panicking. I was there with the [grocery] basket and I felt like everyone was staring at me. I wasn't yet pardoned. Guilty pleas and plea bargaining are often cited as being necessary for our criminal justice system to work properly and in a timely fashion.
In fact, the vast majority of cases brought to trial end in plea bargains. It seems difficult to understand why an innocent person would plead guilty to a crime, however there are many reasons to take a plea deal. With the prospect of facing life in prison if convicted of murder, an accused may decide to accept a reduced sentence, or a lesser charge such as manslaughter. In the case of Maria Shepherd , a false guilty plea was what sent her to jail for a crime she did not commit.
The Crown planned to call the disgraced ex-pathologist Charles Smith as their key witness. At the time, Charles Smith was known as the leading pediatric forensic pathologist. A plea deal would mean that Maria would serve a shorter sentence in a jail near her home. Tunnel vision is a significant problem under the umbrella of professional misconduct. In that case the police were in contact with the actual killer, however, they were so focused on Thomas that they lost sight of any potential alternative suspects.
Research has shown that race and gender play a significant role in wrongful convictions. It is clear that racial minorities are at a higher risk of being wrongly convicted. In Canada, Aboriginal people are drastically overrepresented in the criminal justice system.
While we will never be sure of the numbers, there is good reason to believe that Indigenous people are wrongly convicted at rates higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
Donald Marshall Jr. When he was exonerated 11 years later, the Inquiry into his wrongful conviction cited systemic racism as the main reason for his conviction. DNA analysis was introduced to the criminal justice system in the s and has helped exonerate many innocent people. The results of forensic analysis techniques such as hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm tool mark analysis, shoe comparisons and blood typing that were accepted as reliable early on are now under serious scrutiny.
As noted in the Milgaard Inquiry report:. These concerns are central to the argument for a criminal case review commission, which would theoretically be more accessible, proactive, transparent and independent than the current process.
Although there is little data available on the extent of wrongful convictions in Canada, many experts contend that particular groups may be overrepresented among the wrongfully convicted or may be less likely to have their cases reviewed.
These groups include Indigenous people, racialized Canadians, women, youth and persons with disabilities. Some individuals belong to more than one of these groups and face overlapping vulnerabilities. Vulnerability to wrongful conviction arises from several factors. Some groups are more likely to be wrongfully convicted for the same reasons that they are overrepresented throughout the criminal justice system. The reasons for this overrepresentation are complex, but include intergenerational trauma, systemic racism and discrimination.
Aspects of the criminal justice system that create pressures to plead guilty may have stronger effects on certain groups, including Indigenous people, women, youth and persons with disabilities. Moreover, the fact that false guilty pleas tend to lead to relatively short sentences can in fact reduce the chance of exoneration for wrongfully convicted individuals.
As discussed above, the criminal conviction review process can take years, which can render it much less useful to people serving shorter sentences. In addition, the focus of the criminal conviction review process on new and significant evidence — such as evidence pointing to a different suspect — often places the emphasis on demonstrable factual innocence and thus excludes many people already disproportionately affected by wrongful conviction.
This focus tends to exclude cases in which an available defence was denied or a breach of constitutional rights within the investigative process was not remedied. For example, someone who kills an abusive partner may be pressured into pleading guilty to manslaughter rather than going to trial for murder and pleading self-defence. Legal scholars Debra Parkes and Emma Cunliffe suggest that these types of wrongful convictions disproportionately affect women, and Indigenous women in particular.
Under international law, wrongfully convicted persons are entitled to compensation under certain circumstances.
Article 14 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — to which Canada is a party — provides for the following:. In Canada, there are currently no legislative provisions implementing this obligation. Individuals who have been acquitted or whose charges have been withdrawn or stayed are ineligible for compensation under this framework.
Several jurisdictions throughout the world have independent statutory bodies responsible for reviewing potential wrongful convictions. Since , the CCRC has reviewed thousands of cases and referred hundreds of convictions and sentences back to the appellate court. The CCRC has broad investigative powers under sections 17 and 18 of the Criminal Appeal Act , including the ability to obtain information from public bodies such as the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and social services, as well as the ability to request court orders for material from private individuals or organizations.
Although the idea of a Canadian CCRC has significant support among experts and stakeholders, some argue that it is unnecessary and potentially too costly. For example, it is possible that Canada has a low number of identified wrongful convictions simply because the criminal justice system is already quite effective at preventing wrongful convictions. If this is true, adding another layer of review would be unnecessary and could call into question cases that have already been fairly decided, which could potentially undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.
A related argument against the concept of a CCRC is that it would undermine the values of judicial finality and economy. More specifically, the CCRC has been criticized for not having objective standards to determine the scope of investigations, with neither a minimum amount of investigation required, nor a logical end point to the open-ended task of proving the absence of error.
The CCRC has also experienced large backlogs of cases, which makes prioritizing a challenge. Although there are no publicly available government estimates on the costs of a CCRC in Canada, some advocates estimate that it could be quite low.
Because the rate of wrongful conviction in Canada is unknown, it is difficult to predict whether a Canadian version of the CCRC would have similar cost dynamics.
They feature historical background, current information and references, and many anticipate the emergence of the issues they examine. They are prepared by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service, which carries out research for and provides information and analysis to parliamentarians and Senate and House of Commons committees and parliamentary associations in an objective, impartial manner.
Wrongful Convictions in Canada. Publication No. In its report, the Marshall Inquiry identified errors at virtually every stage of the process, including the following: The responding police officers failed to search the area and question witnesses. A fair, independent and impartial review of the file by Crown counsel also means remaining open to alternative theories of the case, which may be different from the theory advanced by the police. Public Prosecution Service of Canada PPSC managers and Crown counsel should also strive to create a workplace atmosphere that encourages questions, consultations and frank discussion and debate among Crown counsel and that is receptive to the expression of alternative views regarding a case.
Footnote During file review and trial preparation, checks and balances through supervision and second opinions should be encouraged. This can be a very useful technique, particularly in the most serious cases. Consequently, whenever Crown counsel receives information suggesting that there may be a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred, Crown Counsel should immediately report the matter to the Chief Federal Prosecutor CFP for whatever further investigation or action may be required.
Eyewitness misidentification has been identified as the single most important factor leading to wrongful convictions, indeed the overwhelming factor. Footnote 14 Eyewitness misidentification was a key factor in a number of Canadian cases of wrongful convictions. Footnote 15 In one American study, eyewitness misidentification, either mistaken or intentional, was a factor in at least 94 per cent of the exonerations for sexual assault, child sexual abuse and robbery.
When the identification of the perpetrator is at issue, Crown counsel must assess eyewitness identification evidence carefully, and be cautious regarding its use, despite its potential value. The Canadian judiciary has acknowledged the inherent frailties of identification evidence, due to the unreliability of human observation and recollection.
Footnote 17 Honest and confident witnesses, who believe they recall an incident correctly, make convincing witnesses, but they can be wrong.
Crown counsel must be wary of eyewitness evidence, particularly single-witness identification where there is no corroboration and be attuned to the fact that confidence does not necessarily equate with accuracy. Crown counsel must keep current regarding developments in this area and familiarize themselves with the relevant case law, Footnote 18 as well as the best practices recommended for police forces and Crown counsel.
Crown counsel must remain alive to the fact that for a variety of reasons individuals sometimes confess to crimes they did not commit. The Supreme Court of Canada has acknowledged that false confessions are a problem within the criminal justice system, Footnote 20 and that innocent people make false confessions more frequently than those unfamiliar with the phenomenon might expect.
Footnote 21 False accusations and perjury have also been identified as factors in wrongful conviction cases, and particularly common in homicide and child sex abuse cases, Footnote 22 although these factors have tended to receive less attention in the studies and academic literature to date.
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